University of Chicago Press: New Titles in Religion: Comparative Studies and History of Religionhttp://www.press.uchicago.edu/ucp/rss/books/su53_3RSS.xml
The latest new books in Religion: Comparative Studies and History of Religionen-usTue, 03 Mar 2015 06:00:00 GMT1440Learned Patriotshttp://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo18991095.html
The nineteenth century was, for many societies, a period of coming to grips with the growing, and seemingly unstoppable, domination of the world by the “Great Powers” of Europe. The Ottoman Empire was no exception: Ottomans from all walks of life—elite and non-elite, Muslim and non-Muslim—debated the reasons for what they considered to be the Ottoman decline and European ascendance. One of the most popular explanations was deceptively simple: science. If the Ottomans would adopt the new sciences of the Europeans, it was frequently argued, the glory days of the empire could be revived. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; In Learned Patriots, M. Alper Yal&ccedil;inkaya examines what it meant for nineteenth-century Ottoman elites themselves to have a debate about science. Yal&ccedil;inkaya finds that for anxious nineteenth-century Ottoman politicians, intellectuals, and litterateurs, the chief question was not about the meaning, merits, or dangers of science. Rather, what mattered were the qualities of the new “men of science.” Would young, ambitious men with scientific education be loyal to the state? Were they “proper” members of the community? Science, Yal&ccedil;inkaya shows, became a topic that could hardly be discussed without reference to identity and morality. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Approaching science in culture, Learned Patriots contributes to the growing literature on how science travels, representations and public perception of science, science and religion, and science and morality. Additionally, it will appeal to students of the intellectual history of the Middle East and Turkish politics.<div>The nineteenth century was, for many societies, a period of coming to grips with the growing, and seemingly unstoppable, domination of the world by the &ldquo;Great Powers&rdquo; of Europe. The Ottoman Empire was no exception: Ottomans from all walks of life&mdash;elite and non-elite, Muslim and non-Muslim&mdash;debated the reasons for what they considered to be the Ottoman decline and European ascendance. One of the most popular explanations was deceptively simple: science. If the Ottomans would adopt the new sciences of the Europeans, it was frequently argued, the glory days of the empire could be revived.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> In <i>Learned Patriots</i>, M. Alper Yal&ccedil;inkaya examines what it meant for nineteenth-century Ottoman elites themselves to have a debate about science. Yal&ccedil;inkaya finds that for anxious nineteenth-century Ottoman politicians, intellectuals, and litterateurs, the chief question was not about the meaning, merits, or dangers of science. Rather, what mattered were the qualities of the new &ldquo;men of science.&rdquo; Would young, ambitious men with scientific education be loyal to the state? Were they &ldquo;proper&rdquo; members of the community? Science, Yal&ccedil;inkaya shows, became a topic that could hardly be discussed without reference to identity and morality.<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> Approaching science in culture, <i>Learned Patriots</i> contributes to the growing literature on how science travels, representations and public perception of science, science and religion, and science and morality. Additionally, it will appeal to students of the intellectual history of the Middle East and Turkish politics.</div>History: History of IdeasHistory of ScienceMiddle Eastern StudiesReligion: Comparative Studies and History of ReligionSociology: Individual, State and SocietyFri, 13 Feb 2015 06:00:00 GMTM. Alper Yalçinkaya9780226184203Rescued from the Nationhttp://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/R/bo19108899.html
Anagarika Dharmapala is one of the most galvanizing figures in Sri Lanka’s recent turbulent history. He is widely regarded as the nationalist hero who saved the Sinhala people from cultural collapse and whose “protestant” reformation of Buddhism drove monks toward increased political involvement and ethnic confrontation. Yet as tied to Sri Lankan nationalism as Dharmapala is in popular memory, he spent the vast majority of his life abroad, engaging other concerns. In Rescued from the Nation, Steven Kemper reevaluates this important figure in the light of an unprecedented number of his writings, ones that paint a picture not of a nationalist zealot but of a spiritual seeker earnest in his pursuit of salvation. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Drawing on huge stores of source materials—nearly one hundred diaries and notebooks—Kemper reconfigures Dharmapala as a world-renouncer first and a political activist second. Following Dharmapala on his travels between East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and the United States, he traces his lifelong project of creating a unified Buddhist world, recovering the place of the Buddha’s Enlightenment, and imitating the Buddha’s life course. The result is a needed corrective to Dharmapala’s embattled legacy, one that resituates Sri Lanka’s political awakening within the religious one that was Dharmapala’s life project.&nbsp;<div>Anagarika Dharmapala is one of the most galvanizing figures in Sri Lanka&rsquo;s recent turbulent history. He is widely regarded as the nationalist hero who saved the Sinhala people from cultural collapse and whose &ldquo;protestant&rdquo; reformation of Buddhism drove monks toward increased political involvement and ethnic confrontation. Yet as tied to Sri Lankan nationalism as Dharmapala is in popular memory, he spent the vast majority of his life abroad, engaging other concerns. In <i>Rescued from the Nation</i>, Steven Kemper reevaluates this important figure in the light of an unprecedented number of his writings, ones that paint a picture not of a nationalist zealot but of a spiritual seeker earnest in his pursuit of salvation. &nbsp;<br /> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<br /> Drawing on huge stores of source materials&mdash;nearly one hundred diaries and notebooks&mdash;Kemper reconfigures Dharmapala as a world-renouncer first and a political activist second. Following Dharmapala on his travels between East Asia, South Asia, Europe, and the United States, he traces his lifelong project of creating a unified Buddhist world, recovering the place of the Buddha&rsquo;s Enlightenment, and imitating the Buddha&rsquo;s life course. The result is a needed corrective to Dharmapala&rsquo;s embattled legacy, one that resituates Sri Lanka&rsquo;s political awakening within the religious one that was Dharmapala&rsquo;s life project.&nbsp;</div>Anthropology: Cultural and Social AnthropologyAsian Studies: General Asian StudiesHistory: Asian HistoryReligion: Comparative Studies and History of ReligionTue, 13 Jan 2015 06:00:00 GMTSteven Kemper9780226199078